US Marines watch as private security operator Karl Moore (right) speaks with a local shepherd on the notoriously dangerous road between the military outpost Camp Wolf and Al Asad air base in north western Iraq on November 2, 2006. His colleague Mick Holgate stands by. In the background a convoy escorted by the British company ArmorGroup has been stopped by improvised explosive devices. The coalition forces and civilian administration in Iraq depend heavily on the controversial presence of...more »

US Marines watch as private security operator Karl Moore (right) speaks with a local shepherd on the notoriously dangerous road between the military outpost Camp Wolf and Al Asad air base in north western Iraq on November 2, 2006. His colleague Mick Holgate stands by. In the background a convoy escorted by the British company ArmorGroup has been stopped by improvised explosive devices. The coalition forces and civilian administration in Iraq depend heavily on the controversial presence of thousands of private security personnel in their reconstruction efforts and military operations.« less